Reviving Fred
by Hanna Largo
Summary: Fred has been in the imaginary friend business for countless years, but recently with his new assignments something seems to be missing. Is he losing his touch? And more importantly, will he ever be able to help his newest assignment (a young girl named Lizzie) find happiness in order to move on to the next child that needs his help?
1. Chapter 1

"Snot Face...?" Fred stared as newly formed tears continued to roll down Lizzie's cheeks. She lifted her sheets up to her face in an attempt to hide from him and continued to cry.

"Alright then, FINE!" He yelled before taking in a deep breath and puffing out his chest to make himself look big and strong, "You asked for it!" He reached towards her in an attempt to commence a tickling war, but she turned away from him. He lowered his outstretched arms in defeat as the air deflated out of him like a balloon.

Fred quickly looked around the room, thinking of what to do. He stared for a moment at the Barbie car in the corner before picking it up. He flung the doll aside, laughing to himself as it hit the wall. Lizzie looked up for a moment, only long enough to see what had happened before burying her face back into the sheets.

"Snot Face, look!" he said almost desperately as he tore off his shoes and jammed his feet into the tiny car, "a perfect fit!" He began 'riding' around in the car as if it were some form of skateboard, while mocking the noises of a revving engine and screeching tires. After a few moments he became silent, waiting to hear the sweet, familiar sound of giggling coming from the little girl. But nothing happened.

He struggled to get himself free, falling over many times in the process. He became frustrated and began banging his foot against the wall until the car finally broke off. His attention moved towards the large glass window across from Lizzie's bed. He crept over to it and flung the doors open. Standing in the window sill, he put his hands on his hips and let out an eardrum-shattering rooster cry. He watched the bundle in her bed for a sign of movement, but still nothing happened. "Aw come on," he said, thinking she'd surely have a reaction, "you always love my Peter Pan..."

He jumped down from the window, slamming the doors shut again in frustration. "C'mon, Snot Face!" He cried out, running back over to her bed. "We've got to get that nasty Captain Hook!" He quickly spun around in a circle and disappeared, only to return seconds later in an eye patch with a large, shiny hook for a hand. "I hear yer after me treasure!" he said in a low, eerie voice, but Lizzie did not look up.

Fred sighed and turned around once more, this time returning in his original outfit. He thought for a moment before reaching up and tugging at his ear. Suddenly he gave it a big yank, and it began to stretch outward becoming larger and larger. Next he grabbed his tongue and yanked it downwards. He stretched it so far that it was nearly to his knees. Lastly he grabbed his nose, and with a bit of a painful expression on his face began to squeeze it. He winced as it became smaller and smaller before tapping Lizzie on the shoulder and smiled as the little girl finally looked up at him.

"Funny face com-...com-peth-tithion?" He stuttered, struggling to get his words out with his tongue hanging so far out of his mouth. But Lizzie did not laugh, or even smile. He watched as new, glistening tears began to form in her eyes before she hid from him once more.

Fred shook his head multiple times until his face finally snapped back into place. He watched as Lizzie shivered under her blanket and pulled at his hair angrily before sitting down next to her on her bed. He put his arm around her and closed his eyes in thought,, thinking there had to be something that he could do.

"Okay," he said quickly, trying to think of something fast, not being able to bear seeing her this upset. "Okay." He rubbed her back gently for a moment before snapping his eyes back open and and blurting out "Why didn't the teacher fart in the classroom?" He stared at her for a moment, knowing he would get no response. "Because she was a private tooter! HAHA!" He made an extremely loud farting noise and shook her shoulder while continuing his fake laugh, but she still didn't look up.

Fred looked away from her and stared down at the bed, feeling defeated. Every imaginary friend knows that corny jokes are a last resort, for emergency use only. If a child doesn't respond to that, you're past the point of no return. He tightened his arm around Lizzie in a last attempt to comfort her. Without saying a word she laid her head on his chest. He could feel his shirt begin to become damp with her tears. He stared for a moment before beginning to rub her back again. "It'll be okay, Snot Face.." he said quietly as Lizzie finally closed her eyes. "We'll be okay..."

He sat there with her for what seemed like hours until he could tell that she had finally fallen asleep. He gently laid her back down on the bed and covered her with her blankets before walking back over to the window. He stared out into the night, pounding his fists violently against his head. "Why, why, WHY!" He said to himself, knowing that he had once again failed at comforting Lizzie.

He slumped down to the floor, running his fingers through his messy red hair. He couldn't be reassigned to another child again, not after how hard he had tried to become friends with Lizzie. He had been with her for months now, but his antics and hyper personality only worked on her half of the time.

He looked back up at the sleeping girl, remembering the first few children he had been assigned to and how they used to laugh together almost non-stop, causing trouble, making messes and driving parents downright insane. He began pulling at the threads in the carpet, knowing that in order to stay with Lizzie something had to change, and _fast_.


	2. Chapter 2

Screams coming from Lizzie's house the next morning could be heard all the way down the street. Lizzie's mother had awakened to find her living room in a state that could only be described as the scene of an earthquake. Papers were torn up and sprinkled across the floor like snowflakes, furniture was turned upside-down and was stripped of its expensive fabric, and the remains of what used to be a crystal chandelier were lying at her feet.

Polly couldn't believe what she was seeing. She carefully tiptoed around the glass on the floor and over to the telephone. "Hello?!" she yelled in a hoarse, devilish voice after dialing her husband's phone number, "HELLO?!" but there was no answer. She looked down to find that the phone cord had been cut. Without saying another word she grabbed her coat and made her way over to the front door.

She was met in the hallway by young Lizzie who had been woken up by the screaming. "What is it, mommy..?" she asked quietly, seeing the look of disgust her mother had been giving her.

Polly plowed past her, blinded by her rage. "What is it, mommy?" she mocked in a child-like voice as she grabbed her car keys before turning to her daughter. "I-…..I…" she shook her head before finally letting out what she had really wanted to say. "I can't even stand to look at you right now!" And with that comment she stormed out of the house, slamming the door shut behind her. If she couldn't call her husband, she would go straight to his work and tell him what their monster of a daughter had done this time. Lizzie was left standing in the hallway alone.

"Well _finally, _I thought she'd NEVER leave!" Lizzie turned around to see Fred sitting at her kitchen table, eating the remains of Polly's unfinished breakfast. "Looks like it's just you and me!" He smiled and pointed to an empty chair next to him, but Lizzie did not join him at the table. Fred rolled his eyes and let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. "C'mon Snot Face, I only did it for you. You need to relax, have some time to yourself, time with me! Your dad will set her straight, he always does!" But Fred knew that he was lying through his teeth. As always, he had not thought out what consequences could come from his actions. He quickly got up and went over to Lizzie, hoisting her up on his shoulders.

"What to do, what to do…." He ran around the house in circles, trying to think of a game for them to play.

"Put me down…." Came a small voice, almost like a whisper. But Fred continued to dance around the house, knocking things over and making airplane noises. "I said put me DOWN!" she yelled louder, and Fred came to a halt. He hesitated before lifting the girl off of his shoulders.

Lizzie stared at him stubbornly with her hands on her hips before quickly running up the stairs. Fred watched her go, and was about to follow her when moments later she appeared at the bottom of the stairs once again, this time clutching a small pink backpack. She headed towards the front door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Fred laughed, mocking Polly's tone. But Lizzie walked right past him.

"School," she said firmly, wanting to get as far away from Fred as possible.

"Aw come ON!" Fred protested, standing in the doorway in an attempt to block her from leaving. "After all of this you want to go to school? Think of how much fun we can have! School is _boring_, and by the time you get home that Megabeast will be back!"

Lizzie shook her head and walked right through his tall legs, all the way down to the end of the driveway where she stopped to wait for her school bus. Within a half of a second Fred popped out of nowhere again, this time standing next to her outside. "Snot Face," he pleaded, trying to seem as sad as possible in an attempt to win her over. Lizzie looked at him but quickly became distracted once more when Mickey Bunce walked out of his house across the street. She waved energetically at him as he made his way over to the bus stop.

Fred rolled his eyes and threw himself down in the grass at Lizzie's feet. He sat there stubbornly pulling violently on her pant leg. Trying her best not to seem like she noticed, Lizzie smiled at Mickey.

"Where's your mom…?" Mickey asked shyly, seeing his own mother still peeking at them through a window in his house, "She's usually here with you…."

Lizzie nodded, thinking of how strict her mother is. "O-Oh she…she'll be back…Dad forgot his lunch again." She faked a small laugh, not wanting to admit what had actually happened. Mickey laughed too.

"Forgot his lunch?!" protested Fred, "You have GOT to be kidding me!" He got up and waved his arms around in Mickey's face, knowing perfectly well that he could not see him. "HELLO?! Are you that DUMB?!"

"Stop it….!" Lizzie whispered quickly.

"What…?" Mickey asked, confused by the annoyed look that he thought Lizzie was giving him.

"N-nothing," she replied as she pushed Fred away. To Mickey it seemed as though she was swatting at a bug, but he didn't see one. Fred fell backwards onto the ground as the bus pulled up to Lizzie's driveway. He rubbed his head in pain and watched as the two made their way onto the school bus.

"WAIT!" he cried out as the bus began to pull away, "SNOT FAAAACE!" He ran as fast as he could alongside the bus, pulling off miraculous stunts and flipping and twisting through the air in an attempt to get her attention. Lizzie watched him for a moment through the window before sitting down and continuing her conversation with Mickey. Fred tumbled to the ground in defeat. After the bus was out of his sight he stood once more and began stomping at the ground angrily. "No, no, NO!" He yelled to himself, kicking up a large cloud of dirt.

What had he done wrong? Had he really become such a failure that Lizzie, a young girl that was barely the age of ten actually _wanted _to go to school? Fred twisted himself into a ball and flung around the street wildly, taking out mailboxes and breaking car windows. There was so much anger built up inside of him, not towards Lizzie but towards himself. But most of all he was scared. What was going to happen to him if the other imaginary friends found out he was a failure, or worse the Council? Would he be banished like other imaginary friends before him? He untwisted himself and layed in the middle of the street, staring up at the sky with tears in his eyes before whispering quietly, "what happened to me…?"


	3. Chapter 3

Fred was growing increasingly frustrated. "Alright Fred," he said to himself quietly as he continued down the street, knowing that Lizzie had arrived home from school. Her mother would be back any moment now and Lizzie would surely need him. He took one last deep breath before walking up to the house.

Suddenly out of nowhere Fred heard it. Could it be, finally? Was it...laughter? The expression on his face brightened as he turned to find where the sound had come from. But the smile on his face quickly faded when he realized the sound wasn't coming from Lizzie's house. He scanned the street searching for the source of the noise when his gaze fell upon an open window in Mickey's house. Fred's curiosity got the best of him and he quickly disappeared out of the driveway, only to reappear seconds later in a tree outside of Mickey's window.

Fred carefully walked along the branches, trying his best not to make a sound. Through the window he could scarcely see little Mickey Bunce sitting at the foot of his bed. There was another figure in the room as well, but Fred could not make out who it was. He twisted his neck this way and that, trying his best to contort himself into a comfortable position in order to see better. "Im getting too old for this," he mumbled as he took out a pair of large green glasses with lenses bigger than the size of his fists. He held the glasses up to his face and all at once everything became clear.

The figure in Billy's room was none other than his Mrs. Bunce. She was dressed in what could only be described as a lavish party gown. Everything about her was prim and proper, from her hair that had so much hairspray in it that the wind entering the room from the open window couldn't move it, down to her high heeled shoes. Fred gagged to himself, thinking of how much she resembled Polly.

It was not until Mickey let out another laugh that Fred realized that there was something different about her. She had sat down next to her son and was reading aloud a comic from the newspaper. She would read a few sentences, then they would both stop and laugh, then she'd read a few more and they'd laugh again. It was as if the two didn't have any cares in the world.

Suddenly they were interrupted by the sound of the bedroom door opening. In walked Mr. Bunce, looking professional as always. He too was dressed up in a suit and tie. Fred watched as he smiled before joining his family on the bed. He sat with his arm around his wife, listening to her read. With each word that she spoke Fred became more and more entranced by the scene. It was as though he was watching one of those families that you only saw on the television. They seemed nearly perfect together.

After a few more minutes of laughter Mr. Bunce got up from the bed. He took his wife by the hand and helped her up too. Mrs. Bunce folded up the newspaper and placed it on Mickey's bedside table. Fred watched as both Mr. and Mrs. Bunce hugged their son before leaving the room, only to emerge moments later out the front door of the house. They both got into the car and sped away, on their way to the party they were going to.

Fred's mind finally returned to reality when Mickey closed the window and got into bed. The noise startled Fred so much that he nearly fell out of the tree. He quickly grabbed onto one of the branches to save himself from falling and disappeared. This time, he appeared back infront of Lizzie's house. He lowered the glasses slowly from his face and sat down on the porch. He didnt know what it was, but watching Mickey and his parents had stirred something in his mind. He shook his head around, trying to find the idea when a small piece of paper popped out of his ear. Fred picked it up, shook off the earwax and began to read. He stopped suddenly as a light bulb went off in is mind and he quickly disappeared once again.

Seconds later he reappeared back in Lizzies room. He sat on the windowsill, hiding himself behind one of the courtains. This was what Lizzie was missing, Fred thought to himself. This was why Lizzie needed him...

Fred knew that Lizzie was having trouble with her parents. Every child does at some point, after all. But Lizzie's case was different. Never had he witnessed such a Megabeast as Polly. He watched as Lizzie sat down on her bed, playing quietly with one of her dolls. Watching her nearly brought tears to Fred's eyes. Why hadn't he seen it before? All that Lizzie wanted was a family of her own. A _real_ family . One that loved her, played with her, even cared for her in the slightest bit. Fred didn't doubt that the Megabeast and her husband had feelings for their daughter, but they sure as hell didn't show it. He smiled, knowing what he was going to do. He was finally going to get Lizzie what she wanted, no matter what or how long it took.

Out of excitement, Fred jumped out from behind the curtain. Startled, Lizzie jumped up in fear. "Sorry, Snot Face!" Fred exclaimed with a grin on his face. Lizzie just nodded and sat back down. Fred quickly joined her at the foot of her bed and picked up one of the dolls. "Whatcha doing, then?" He asked.

"Nothing, really.." said Lizzie. Fred followed her gaze over to the clock, knowing that she was counting the minutes until her enraged mother got home.

"Hey, Snot Face..." said Fred suddenly, remembering what he had done to the living room. Lizzie looked up from her dolls. "Snot Face," Fred began again, this time kneeling down in front of her and taking her hands in his. Lizzie stared back at him, not understanding what he was doing and thinking that it was just another one of his tricks, that he was going to shock her hands or make her do something else that she didn't want to do.

"I want you to trust me." Fred said quietly while staring her straight in the eye.

"Trust you?" asked Lizzie, knowing that of all people Fred was the LAST person she would ever put her trust in.

Fred sighed, seeing the expression on her face and tightened his grip on her hands. "Remember when I said we'll be okay?" Lizzie hesitated before nodding in response. "Well, I'm promising you, alright? Were going to conquer this Megabeast, and were going to do it together."

Lizzie couldn't help but to smile at the thought of finally taking down the monster. "You promise...?" she asked in that sweet, quiet voice of hers. Fred's grin nearly stretched ear to ear from finally seeing a smile on the girl's face and he nodded.

"I promise," he said as he let go of her hands. He put his hand into a fist, with only his pinky finger sticking up. "Well, go on!" He laughed when Lizzie just stared back at him and he took her hand once more, balling it into a fist and interlocking her small finger with his. "Elizabeth Cronin," he said in a low, serious voice, "I, Sir Fred, promise you that we will take her down, whatever it takes."

"Together?" Lizzie asked with a small smile on her face.

"Together." Fred replied with a smile. He squeezed her finger gently, sealing his promise. Lizzie let go and wrapped her arms around Fred tightly in a hug.

"I trust you..."


	4. Chapter 4

Fred and Lizzie sat silently together as the minutes slowly passed. Fred didn't want to admit it to her, but he was starting to get scared. Had he really just promised to change Polly after ten years of constant torment? The job seemed nearly impossible, and he couldn't bear the thought of letting down another child.

He watched silently as Lizzie played with her toys and let out a small sigh, thinking of the last assignment he had. Her name was Blair, a young bright-eyed girl who seemed to have it all. She had a family that owned half of the neighborhood and one of the largest houses Fred had ever seen, yet they still had piles of money to spare. Everything she had ever wanted was brought to her on a silver platter, whether it be toys or pets, even cars that she couldn't drive yet. Her life seemed perfect.

Fred's gaze moved down towards the floor, thinking of all of the fun they used to have together. No matter what they did, or even what got broken, there were never any consequences. They would make mud pies to fling at neighbors, flood the street with water during the winter so that everyone would slip, hide objects such as car keys and wallets, and even occasionally steal from unsuspecting girl scout cookie sellers that traveled door to door.

Every time that they got caught, her parents would always make up the difference in the only way they knew how: their money. Neighbors would be bribed to the point that even their children started to attract to Blair like a magnet, in hopes that they would be compensated for their time with her. But as long as Fred was there she was never lonely.

"Fred...?" Lizzie asked quietly, seeing that Fred had become misty-eyed. Fred quickly wiped the tears away and picked up one of the toy cars, rolling it back and forth on the floor and making his usual obnoxious noises. After a few moments of watching him Lizzie smiled and went back to the picture that she was now drawing.

Fred's mind wandered back to Blair as he rolled the truck around in a never-ending circle. Blair had been the first child that he had ever made a promise to. He remembered it clearly, the day that he intertwined her pinky finger in his and told her that they would be happy like this forever. He unconsciously began 'driving' the truck more violently across the floor, making sharp turns and louder driving noises.

After a minute or so he stopped completely, remembering the day that his promise had been broken. He thought of how the light had faded from Blair's eyes as her mother became sick. All of a sudden the fun had stopped. There were no more games, no more new toys to play with, no one coming to the house to visit any more. The house had been filled with emptiness, and the sound of Blair's laughter no longer echoed through its walls.

The day that Blair's mother passed away was the day that Fred disappeared from her life. He was unwanted, shunned from her imagination and blocked out by her stronger sad thoughts. He was sent away, back to face the Council that gave him lecture upon lecture about what he had done wrong. Imaginary friend official rule number 4832, never make a promise to a child that you can't keep.

Fred looked back to Lizzie, only to see that she was drawing a picture of the two of them together. She was no artist, but he was fairly certain that the green blob with the mess of red hair was indeed himself. Lizzie looked up at him and smiled, pointing to how the two figures were holding hands. He wiped away his tears and faked a small smile back at her, making a silent vow with himself to help Lizzie in any way possible. He couldn't go through letting down a child again.

Moments later the door to Lizzie's room suddenly opened. Fred looked up to see Nigel standing in the doorway, still in his work clothes closely followed by Polly. She had an expression on her face that made Fred nervous, and he gently placed his hand on Lizzie's shoulder in support.

"Well? Go on!" Polly yelled, shoving her husband into the room. He sighed and turned to Lizzie.

"Elizabeth," he said calmly, but his tone quickly became more stern as he saw the expression on his wife's face. "Elizabeth we need to talk." Lizzie looked up at her parents nervously. "Lizzie what happened today?" he asked. Lizzie stared back at him, feeling speechless. How could she explain to him that her imaginary friend had yet again caused another mess?

"I'll tell you what happened," Polly yelled, running low on patience. "Your _angel_ has ruined my house yet again!"

"N-no I-" Lizzie began in an attempt to defend herself, but Polly was not going to listen to her.

"Don't you DARE tell me that 'friend' of yours did this!" She yelled, lifting up what was left of the fabric from one of the couch cushions. Hearing the anger in her voice, Fred tightened his grip on Lizzie's shoulder. "Well?!" She stared at her daughter waiting for an explanation, but Lizzie didn't say a word. Polly's gaze moved towards the picture she was drawing and quickly she snatched it out of the little girl's hands.

"Polly..." Nigel began, seeing tears begin to form in Lizzie's eyes, but he quickly closed his mouth when his wife glared intensely at him.

"Is this 'him'?" She demanded, looking at the crude picture Lizzie had drawn. Lizzie couldn't do anything but nod in response, in fear of what her mother might do this time. An evil grin spread across Polly's face as she ripped the picture in half.

"S-stop!" Lizzie cried out reaching for the picture, but Polly only kept tearing until all that was left were tiny scraps of paper. Her grin got wider as she sprinkled the pieces down to the floor at Lizzie's feet.

"When will you ever learn? Stories are called stories for a reason Elizabeth. The same goes for this 'friend' of yours. He's not welcome in our house."

Fred jumped up with his hands on his hips. "_Excuse me?!" _

"This is the last straw Elizabeth," Polly continued as Fred walked towards her angrily. "If I find one inch of this house out of place _ever again-" _She stopped when Nigel grabbed her arm gently. She stared at him for a moment, not understanding why a grown man could not discipline his own child. Before Fred could reach her she had stormed out of the room in frustration.

Lizzie looked down at the floor and continued to cry. Fred watched Polly storm down the hallway before placing his hand back onto her shoulder. "Snot Face..." he whispered quietly, but he stopped when he saw her tears dropping down to the floor. He looked up at Nigel before gently pushing Lizzie in his direction.

Nigel shut the door and embraced his daughter tightly, not understanding why his wife was so cruel. "Shhhhh," he whispered to her before pulling away from her and gently pushing the hair out of her face. Fred watched as he began to wipe her tears away.

Suddenly, Fred got a strong feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was a burning sensation, as though he had been stabbed with a scorching hot knife. He watched as Lizzie was led over to her bed by her father before picking up the pieces that were on the floor. He held his stomach in pain for a moment before quickly disappearing out of the room.

Seconds later Fred was outside. He laid the pieces of the picture down onto the driveway in an attempt to form the picture once more. Failing, he picked the pieces up again and held them tightly to his chest, directly over his heart. He closed his eyes as the burning in his body intensified and his eyes began to water. Fred knew this feeling, he had gotten it once before just a few weeks before Blair's mother passed away. He clenched his fists tightly as tears began to roll down his face. "Im in trouble..." he whispered to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Nigel pulled the covers up over Lizzie and sat down next to her on the bed. He stared at her sad expression before wiping away a few leftover tears that were still on her cheeks and handing her her ragged teddy bear. She quickly grabbed it and held it close to her body, searching the room for Fred. He followed her gaze around the room before tucking in the sheets and asking , "So...what's her name?"

Lizzie stared out the window for a moment, wondering where he had gone to before answering quietly "H-huh...?"

"Your friend," her father replied with a small smile.

"Oh...Fred..."

Nigel couldn't help but to laugh to himself when she said this. "Her name is 'Fred'?"

"_His_ name is Fred.." she answered distractedly, wondering where he was hiding and why he wouldn't come out. She looked quickly over at the bedroom door when she heard the door to her parent's room slam shut, half expecting Fred to pop out of nowhere laughing and mocking her mother's anger.

Nigel nodded a bit slowly, trying to get her mind off of what had just happened. "Okay then," he said, trying to focus her attention back on to him, "...tell me about Fred."

Lizzie tightened her grip on the bear before looking away from the door back to her father. "Fred...?" she asked quietly, and her father nodded in response. "He-..." she shrugged, but continued when she felt her father's gaze still on her. "He's just my friend..."

"What's he like?" Nigel asked, hearing his wife stomping around in the next room.

"He's got red hair...he's always in green..."

Nigel smiled. "Like a leprechaun?"

Lizzie shook her head. "No! He's tall..and hes really funny. He makes funny faces, and tells jokes...he makes me laugh. He's there for me." She smiled at the thought of some of the things that her and Fred had done together but stopped after a moment, wishing that he was here.

Nigel nodded, not expecting her to describe him this way. To him an imaginary friend was just that, some sort of imaginary creature, maybe with three of four arms or being sort of animal all together.

"Didn't you have a friend when you were little dad...?" Lizzie asked, not understanding why adults never seemed to understand her relationship with Fred.

"No." Nigel answered quickly, knowing that his wife would not want him supporting her fantasies even though he could remember having at _least_ one or two as a kid, more if you counted those of his many brothers and sisters.

"Oh..."

"Anyway," said Nigel before standing up. He kissed the top of her head before finishing tucking her in to bed. "You need to get some sleep Lizzie, okay?" He stared at the sad expression that was still on her face and hesitated before adding, "Your mother is just-...she's just stressed. She's got a lot on her plate at work and we need to support that, okay?" He faked a smile at her when she nodded before turning off the light. "Good night."

"Night dad." Lizzie watched him leave the room before quickly looking around again, still waiting for Fred to pop out of nowhere. "Fred? ...Fred...?"

Nigel stood outside of Lizzie's bedroom door and sighed when he heard her calling for Fred. He rubbed his face tiredly, not knowing what to make of the situation. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, feeling his head start to pound. His moment of peace was quickly over when he heard his wife screaming his name from their bedroom. He dropped his hands away from his face before opening the door, only to find Polly standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Well?" She asked in that horribly harsh tone of hers.

"I talked to her," Nigel lied, not wanting to get into another fight. But Polly just laughed.

"_Talked to her?!_ Oh Nigel! Do you even _care _that half of our house has been ruined? Or that your daughter spends half of her time talking to _air_?"

Lizzie put her hands over her ears tightly, not wanting to have to hear any more of their conversation. "Fred..." She pleaded quietly, just wanting him to show up and make everything better again. She pulled the covers up over her head and squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to hear one of his obnoxious impressions or see him pull off another one of his magnificant stunts. She would rather have everything in the house broken than have to go through this alone.

Sure enough, moments later the entire room began to shake. Lizzie sat up in bed and smiled, seeing the familiar green smoke begin to seep out of her closet. "Fred...? Fred!" Lizzie jumped out of bed and ran over to the closet door. Slowly, she reached out to the door handle. Before she could even touch it the closet doors flung open and there was Fred, standing in his Peter Pan pose. He stared at her with a grin on his face before wrapping her arms around her tightly, lifting her up from the floor.

"Snot Face!" He laughed, swinging her around in a circle.

"You came back!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"Came back? Wha-... a guy can't take a bathroom break?" He smiled before carrying her back over to her bed.

"Im not tired," Lizzie said stubbornly when he put her down onto the bed.

"Im not tired," He mocked in an immature voice. "What's this...?" He reached over and picked up the teddy bear. "We don't need this." He threw the bear to the side. "Now where is it..." He began pretending to search his pockets. Lizzie watched him excitedly when he eventually pulled out a small green gift bag.

"What is it? Is it for me?" she smiled, reaching towards the bag.

"Uh uh uh," replied Fred, wagging his finger at her. "You can have it if you promise to go to sleep."

"I promise!" She replied, wrapping her pinky finger around his tightly before quickly jumping into bed and pulling the covers back over herself.

"All right," he said, holding the bag out to her. "Psych!" he yelled and pulled the bag away when she had a grip on it. "Aw come on," he said, seeing the sad expression on her face, "you know I'm joking Snot Face." He placed the bag down onto her bed.

Lizzie smiled at him before picking up the bag and taking out what was inside. It was tightly wrapped in layer upon layer of green and white dotted tissue paper. Without hesitation she ripped the paper off excitedly. Inside was the picture she had drawn, placed back together in one piece as if by magic. It was set inside of a shiny green frame that Lizzie could see her reflection in.

Fred watched her nervously, not knowing what she would think about it. She was a kid, after all, and probably expected some sort of exciting new toy. To his relief Lizzie looked up at him and stared for a moment before wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"You like it...?" He smiled down at her, hugging her back tightly.

"I love it," she said quietly, tightening her grip around him.

"Good," Fred laughed before letting go of her. "Buuuuuut, now what are we going to do?"

Lizzie sighed before laying back down in bed. She held the frame tightly, close to her body like she had done with the bear. Fred stared at her as she did this before tucking the sheets back in around her.

"Fred...?" She asked quietly when he was finished.

"Snot Face?"

She closed her eyes and waited a few moments before saying quietly "...I think we'll be okay."

Fred smiled and got up from the bed. He walked over to the window and closed the shades, making sure that she couldn't see him in the darkness before holding his stomach once again in pain. "I know we will be, Snot Face." he replied worriedly.

***And with that the 5000 word milestone has come and gone. As always please feel free to leave a review/shoot me a PM! Any opinions/criticisms/fresh ideas are ALWAYS welcome!***


	6. Chapter 6

Fred tapped his foot impatiently as he stared out the window. "Come on...Come _on..." _He let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. "Where are you...?!" He glanced over at Lizzie, still asleep in her bed. "Sure Fred, I'll be there, no problem" He mocked Herman's voice quietly to himself, not wanting to wake Lizzie up. Closing his eyes, he began to count to ten out loud to himself. When he got to eight he could barely wait any longer. He clenched his fists before quickly disappearing out of the room.

"HERM-" Fred began when he reappeared, but his scream was quickly muffled when Velcro Head threw his hands over Fred's mouth. "Mph...HRRRMNNNN..."

"SHH!" Velcro Head interrupted. He nodded towards the bed in the corner of the room. Fred followed his gaze to see that Herman was kneeling next to the bed of a sad looking little boy. The boy was about seven or eight years old. He was clutching a stuffed animal with bloodshot and watery eyes. Herman was finishing the last few words of a bed time story. He glared over at Fred before continuing. When he was done, he hid the book back in his cape.

"H-...Herman," the boy said as he began to laugh. He was pointing towards Herman's head.

"Huh?" Herman looked around the room, pretending not to notice anything.

"Herman your head!" the boy laughed. Fred rolled his eyes as Herman's fiery red hair began turning to just that, fire. The boy laughed as Herman jumped up and began dancing around in an attempt to put himself out. He fanned himself with his cape until the flames atop his head had finally died down.

"What do you want?" Velcro head whispered to Fred.

"I need you guys...!" Fred replied angrily. Velcro shook his head, not wanting to deal with Fred's attitude tonight. "Im sorry, you what?"

Fred broke free from his grip and yanked his ear right off of the side of Velcro's head. Holding it up to his mouth he yelled loudly, "I...N-EEEEEEEEEEE-DUH YOU GUYSSSSSSSSS."

Velcro Head stumbled back in pain, rubbing where his ear used to be. He snatched it back from Fred and put it back into place. "Alright, Alright!" He yelled, grabbing Fred's arm. Fred struggled to get away but Velcro Head was too fast for him. Within seconds they had disappeared out of the room and were sitting in the grass outside.

Velcro sighed, seeing the sad expression on Fred's face. "Fred," he started before letting go of his arm, "you know you can't just burst in like that." Fred stared away from him angrily and gave no response."What is it Fred? ... Is it Elizabeth?"

"What do _you _think?" Fred replied. He began pulling grass out of the lawn. "She's just-...I dont know..." He stopped pulling at the grass when he felt his friend's hand gently squeeze his shoulder. "She's so-...She's sad..." He kept his gaze away from Velcro Head, feeling tears begin to form in his eyes as he thought of how easy it had been for Herman to make the little boy laugh. He could never do that with Lizzie.

"How long has it been, Fred?" Velcro asked worriedly, having not seen Fred like this in a long, long time.

Fred sniffled loudly and shrugged. "Couple months..."

"A couple?" came Herman;s voice out of nowhere. He had put the little boy to sleep and was now laying in the grass next to them, "Wanna know _my _record? Three months tops. And after being with me, that was one of the happiest girls I have ever seen." Velcro Head bit his lip nervously as he said this, knowing that Herman was doing his usual kidding around, just at the wrong time.

Fred slammed his fists down at the ground in rage. "Is this just a game to you?!" he yelled angrily, wanting nothing more than for Herman to _actually _set on fire.

Herman stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "Not a game, Fred. My job."

"What I think he means," Velcro Head began quickly, seeing the anger in Fred's eyes, "is that-"

"Oh you know _exactly_ what he means." He moved his angry gaze over to Velcro. "That's all this is about. Help a kid for a few months. Maybe they'll be happy, maybe they won't. But how long does that happiness last? A month? But oh, that doesn't matter. It's just a _job, _right?! You finish your job, you leave. That's it." Fred was blinded by rage. He reached up and pulled at his own hair in frustration. "What about the kids? Do they matter?"

Velcro Head nodded slowly in response. "Of course they do Fred..."

"Apparently not!" Fred yelled back. "To them you're just imaginary, is that it? It's all fake. That's all this is. That's-" Fred paused and took a long, deep breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears begin to fall down his cheeks from his burning eyes. He stood up and quickly wiped them away. "T-that's all this is." He bit his lip hard, feeling the pain begin to return in his stomach. He tried his best to stand up straight.

Herman rolled his eyes, feeling that Fred was over reacting. "Come on, buddie." He stood up to put his arm around Fred's shoulder. "We're all friends here, remember?"He watched as Fred took another deep breath in an attempt to get himself under control. "Friends help friends. Right Velcro?" He faked a smile as Velcro Head stood and put his arm around Fred as well. "We're going to get through this. _She's _going to get through this, okay?"

Fred shook his head, clutching his stomach in pain. He pushed their hands off of his shoulders and hesitated before whispering, "...I-I promised..." Herman and Velcro Head exchanged worried looks as he said this.

"I'm telling you Fred, you can do this. You're Drop Dead Fred!"

Fred couldn't help but to smile as Velcro Head said this. "That's what they say," he said quietly, having not heard that nickname in awhile.

"Then why are you worried? You _always _think of something. I know that, Herman knows that, hell even the Council knows that. You're an expert! You're the guy we've all had to go to for help!" Herman nodded in agreement as Velcro Head said this.

"Okay," Fred said after a few moments of silence. "Okay..."

Velcro Head smiled before holding out his hands. After a moment Herman joined in too. Fred stared at them before holding out his hands in the circle as well. He smiled as they all started doing their secret handshake. Their arms flailed as they spun around in circles and clapped their hands together as fast as lightning. Somewhere in the middle Herman did a back flip as Fred and Velcro laughed and cheered. Fred wiped away the few tears that were left on his cheeks as the handshake came to a close. They all smiled as Fred counted to three in his head. When he got to three, the three of them simultaneously snapped their fingers and disappeared.

Moments later Fred reappeared back in Lizzie's room. He crept over to her bed and pulled up the blankets she had kicked off while she was sleeping. Quietly he pulled up a chair next to her bed and sat down. He was determined to make a plan of what he was going to do next. "One step at a time, Fred," he whispered quietly to himself. After talking with his friends he knew that he was going to continue to try his best for her.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently before leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He began running through memories in his head of the advice he had given his friends when they were having trouble. Fred was full of good ideas, it was just executing them that was hard.

Fred's mind wandered like this for a few minutes. He let go of Lizzie's hand and picked up the bear from the floor, tucking it back under her arm and pulling the blankets over her once again. There was no time for any more jokes. Jokes were the _job. "_That_'s not_what this is," Fred whispered quietly to himself. He closed his eyes once again, letting his mind continue to drift further until he eventually fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

"You aren't coming?" Lizzie was staring up at Fred with sad eyes as they stood at the bus stop the next morning.

"Aww come on, not this face..." said Fred as he watched her pout more and more until her whole face was scrunched up. He sighed and shook his head before taking a deep breath and sucking in his own face and mimicking hers, but she did not back down. He moved his face closer to hers until their noses were touching. They stared at each other for a few moments longrt before both bursting out into laughter. Fred wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"When will you be back?" She asked, not wanting to go through the whole day alone.

"Let's say...three thirty."

"Three thirty?" Lizzie whined as she pulled away from him. "But I get home at _two _thirty!"

Fred let out a loud fake sigh. "_Three _and I'll bring you back a surprise. Okay?" Lizzie stared at him, considering his offer. Before she could open her mouth to answer the bus had pulled up to her house. "Go on then," said Fred as he pushed her towards the bus. "It's just thirty minutes of your life." Lizzie stuck her tongue out at him before getting on to the bus.

Fred smiled as he watched her run to a bus seat. She looked around to make sure no one was looking before waving at him excitedly. He saluted her and watched the bus drive away. The smile slowly faded from his face, as he thought about what he was about to get himself into. Taking in a deep breath he closed his eyes before quickly disappearing, this time leaving no trace of green smoke behind.

He reappeared in a long hallway, lined with office doors stretching from the floor to the ceiling. He looked around before loudly letting out the breath he had been holding in. He straightened his lime green bow tie before starting down the hallway.

"Fred, buddie!" Fred turned around just long enough to see who was calling his name. He nodded toward his colleague before turning back and continuing to walk. His mind was only focused on one thing: getting what he needed and getting out. As he neared the end of the hallway he quickly stopped to look around the corner, making sure that no one else was there before continuing his walk.

"167...168...169..." Fred counted to himself nervously before stopping in front of one of the towering doors. "...170." He reached out his hand to turn the doorknob but stopped when he saw that it was shaking. "Come on, Fred" he said to himself, trying to calm down. He took a moment to shake out his whole body from head to toe, flailing his arms and stomping his feet on the ground before quickly opening the door.

The walls of the room were lined with filing cabinets stacked on top of each other. Fred craned his neck to look at them all. It seemed as though the ceiling was even taller in this room. He scanned the never ending columns before fishing in his pocket for his key.

Thankfully, Fred's cabinet stood out like an elephant in the room. It was a bit taller than the rest, plated in green metal that was gleaming under the bright lights of the room. He walked over to it quickly and struggled to get the lock open with his shaking hands. When he finally pried it open he was greeted with a mess of unorganized folders. Shoving his hands into the piles he began pulling them out one by one. "Sarah...no...Noah...no..."

Memories were running through his head as he remembered each of his completed assignments. "Focus, Fred" he whispered to himself. He put the folders back and threw open another drawer, exposing five lonely red colored folders. Fred bit his lip, realizing that these were his failures. He scanned the names on the folders, not wanting to have to face the truth of all of the kids he had left behind before quickly pulling out the folder labeled Elizabeth Cronin and slamming the drawer shut. Inside the folder was a picture of Lizzie and a short description of her and her home life, along with a few other issues she had been having. Fred sighed as he scanned the long list, knowing that he had a lot of work left to do.

"Fred...? Fred!" A familiar voice came from behind him. Fred quickly shut the folder before turning to see Hydro standing there.

"Hydro!" Fred tried to sound enthusiastic as Hydro hugged him tightly.

"Where have you been?" Hydro asked as he pulled away from Fred. He laughed seeing that he had dampened Fred's shirt a bit. "Sorry...I guess I've still got some kinks in me..."

Fred shook his head and faked a smile at his friend. "Just been with my new assignment for a bit...how about you?"

Hydro removed a picture from the folder he was holding and showed it to Fred proudly. "I've got a new one," he said excitedly, "this one, well the son of a firefighter!" Fred couldn't help but to laugh thinking that Hydro was perfect for this job. Most people's bodies are about 73 percent water, but Hydro's was around 99, maybe even 100. He put the picture back into the folder before quickly wiping his leaking nose. "What are you here for?" He asked as he locked the file back into his cabinet, "I thought you saw the Council last month?"

"I did..." Fred mumbled. "Im just-..." He stared at the look on Hydro's face, knowing there was no use in lying to him. "I'm looking for something..."

"Sneaking around?!" Exclaimed Hydro, so loudly that Fred had to throw his hand over his friend's mouth.

"Shhhh.." Fred hissed before taking his hand away and wiping it on his pants to dry.

"What if they find you Fred? What about-..." Hydro looked around nervously before saying.."What about the j_udge?"_

"Psh...judge smudge," said Fred as he scanned the file for what he needed. He smiled as he found Nigel's name in the list of Lizzie's family members. "2098," he said to himself before locking the file back into his cabinet.

Fred walked down the rows once again, looking for the number he needed. He was about to pry open number 2098 when the door flung open once again. Fred felt his whole body stiffen as he turned to see who had entered. "I-...Judge Smudge..." Fred said quickly, staring up at the man that was towering over him. "W-what a surprise..."

Judge Smudge yanked up his enormous black and white pants by his suspenders before nodding slowly in Fred's direction. "Hello, Freddie..." He boomed down at him. "And to what do I owe the honor of seeing you here again..."

"Oh, you know..." said Fred, trying his best to avoid eye contact with the judge. He was a silver haired old man, as wide as he was tall. As he stared down at Fred he flickered in and out of sight every so often. "Paperwork..."

The judge nodded slowly. "And hows uh...Izzie." He said with a large sneer on his face as he moved closer to them. His huge body cast a shadow over him and Hydro as he towered over them.

"_Lizzie _is quite fine." Fred replied before moving his gaze over to Hydro.

"What?!" Hydro mouthed silently to Fred, but Fred wouldn't stop staring at him. "O-...ohhhhh..." He whispered quietly before turning to the judge. "J-Judge Smudge?"

The judge turned his attention to Hydro long enough for Fred to reach 2098. "Go on," he whispered to Hydro, knowing that the judge's hearing was fading with his extremely old age.

Hydro nodded before looking up at the judge. "I just uh...you see, I've been having a problem..." The judge nodded as he stared down at Hydro, who looked as though he was about to melt into a puddle at any moment.

Fred was trying his best to pry open the cabinet. Hydro looked around the room frantically before continuing. "I uh...I get these...leaks..."

"Leaks?" Judge Smudge asked with a hearty laugh, not understanding where this was going.

Hydro nodded slowly, trying to keep his attention. "Sometimes I just...I mean it just..."

The Judge rolled his eyes before looking back over at Fred. Fred quickly stopped what he was doing before smiling up at the Judge. "Just looking for my key," he said before bending down to the floor pretending to look for it. The judge nodded before moving his attention back to Hydro.

"Sometimes I just-" Hydro gulped, feeling the judge's intense gaze on him. He glanced back over at Fred and sighed when he saw the frantic look on his face. He hesitated before quickly looking back at the judge and saying loudly. "I-I just...I ah..." Hydro closed his eyes nervously before yelling loudly, "ACHOO!"

Fred looked up in time to see water squirting out of Hydro's nose, straight into the judge's face. The judge was blown backwards and was rubbing his eyes, blinded by the endless stream. "HYDRO!" He screamed, reaching out his arms and grabbing his shoulders before quickly leading him out of the room, not wanting any of the files to get wet.

Fred let out a sigh of relief. He watched guiltily as the two of them left the room. He had a feeling that he wouldn't be seeing Hydro again anytime soon after pulling that stunt for him. He quickly shook his head again to snap himself out of his thoughts before prying the drawer open and scanning the folders until he came across the name he was looking for.

He picked up the folder labeled Nigel Cronin before quickly slamming the drawer shut and disappearing out of the room.

**Footnote:**

**This update was a bit bulky, so it has been split between chapter seven and chapter eight which will be posted later this week. I also want to take this opportunity to thank user ForgeLove for helping me this week with sorting out some ideas, and also for the endless amount of support they have been throwing my way. I really appreciate everyone's support and reviews, and hope that you all are continuing to enjoy the story. (:**


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